Battery Metals

A new report by IDTechEx estimates that incorporating 20% silicon into an anode could improve a battery’s energy density by 17%, this being one of the main reasons why a high number of early-stage companies are focusing on developing silicon anode materials, compared to other areas of lithium-ion development.

Silicon has the potential to significantly increase battery energy density because it has a capacity an order of magnitude higher than the commonly used graphite.

According to IDTechEx, this means that cell-level energy density could almost double over current state-of-the-art, bringing obvious benefits to electric vehicle range or smartphone runtime.

“Beyond this headline number, silicon can also improve the appeal of lower energy cells, such as lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP), narrowing the gap to nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) type cells and minimizing the core disadvantage of LFP, especially for battery electric vehicles,” the report reads.

The market researcher points out that, although silicon anodes have many advantages, they suffer from short lifespans because the volume changes that they undergo during cycling lead to the consumption of electrolyte and lithium and cause mechanical stresses that ultimately result in the loss of electrical and ionic conductivity.

“Incorporating porosity, electrolyte additives, and conductive and binding networks are just some of the solutions that are being developed,” the dossier states. “Silicon also has a reduced risk of dendrite formation, while the porosity and conductive additives that are generally needed further help with fast-charge capability and operation at low temperatures. Overall, silicon anodes represent a highly promising proposition and companies are now advertising cells with reasonable cycle lives, providing evidence that the key drawback of silicon is close to being overcome.”

Lithium-metal anodes

IDTechEx also makes the case for lithium-metal anodes, stating that they hold great promise for improving energy density despite the fact that they suffer from poor cycle life and are also at higher risk of dendrite formation and short-circuits.

“Solid-state electrolytes are being widely developed as a solution but designs using a thin protective barrier and a stable liquid electrolyte are also being explored as a means to enable lithium-metal anodes,” the report says. “SES is a prominent example of a company using this type of approach. In fact, the use of a more conventional separator/electrolyte system may be beneficial to energy density and manufacturability, though the safety benefits of using a solid electrolyte may have to be diminished to some extent.”

In the view of the experts at the British firm, beyond just energy density, manufacturers are also looking at fast-charging capabilities, something that silicon anodes may be well suited to do, while improvements still need to be done for Li-metal-based cells.

“Some applications may require both fast-charge capability and very long cycle lives beyond the 1000 cycles generally possible with Si or Li,” the document states. “More novel anode materials based on niobium and tungsten oxides are under development by Toshiba, Echion, and Nyobolt, with promises of 5-6 minute charging times, cycle lives in the tens of thousands but with energy densities likely to sit below LFP.”

Despite the challenges that still need to be addressed, for IDTechEx the key to the success of silicon and lithium-metal anodes is starting to shift toward how these solutions can be manufactured at scale and integrated into current battery manufacturing processes.

“With similar advantages and disadvantages, ultimately, the question will not be about the use of silicon or lithium, but the implementation of a given innovation or solution,” the report concludes.

 

A top Republican U.S. senator urged the U.S. energy secretary this week to provide information on the Biden administration’s strategy for domestic mining of minerals for electric vehicle batteries on the seabed floor.

Seabed mining is a new industry that backers say can supply many of the metals including nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese for advanced batteries and other components in electric vehicles.

The Biden administration’s strategy to fight emissions blamed for climate change includes boosting batteries and electric vehicles.

But the United States has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which means it is not part of negotiations on regulations governing seabed mining.

“Taking into account the uptick in demand one might expect as a result of your Administration’s goals to advance vehicle electrification, it is vital that domestic supply for these minerals be enhanced,” said the letter from Senator Lisa Murkowski to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Murkowksi asked Granholm in the letter 02.09.22 – Letter to Granholm re Seafloor Mineral Collection (003).pdf if the administration is increasing the priority it places on U.S. ratification of UNCLOS.

She also asked Granholm how mining in the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone would benefit the United States economically and strategically.

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Granholm has said that the administration supports domestic, responsible mining.

Seabed mining, which involves extracting potato-sized nodules from the deep, has been getting increasing attention.

French President Emmanuel Macron has identified seabed exploration as an investment priority for France, highlighting the potential of gaining access to “rare metals” as well as a better understanding of marine ecosystems.

But many environmental groups oppose the practice, saying it will be harmful to sensitive marine life, including potentially to species that have not yet been discovered.

The Dalian iron ore price dived more than 8% on Friday after China’s regulators and industry association issued warnings earlier in the week against recent unusual price moves of the key steelmaking ingredient.

Earlier on Friday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which is the country’s state planner, said it and the market regulator would dispatch investigation teams to the commodity exchange and key ports to look into iron ore inventories and trading in the spot and futures markets.

The NDRC, which has issued three public announcements so far this year after iron ore prices surged more than 20%, said it had warned information providers that they should not fabricate any news or drive up prices, and pledged to crackdown on any irregularities.

The Dalian bourse, following the state planner’s statement, doubled transaction fees for some iron ore futures contracts. That move is effective on February 16.

Meanwhile, the China Iron and Steel Association, said on Friday night that it found some companies involved in iron ore businesses had “violated business ethics” by issuing and hyping fake information, which seriously disrupted market order and hurt the rights of the market participants.

“As authorities are paying close attention to iron ore, prices could weaken affected by market sentiment,” GF Futures analysts wrote in a note.

A Shanghai-based ferrous e-commerce platform, Esteel.com, said in a notice on Wednesday morning that one of its previous releases mentioning a possible decline in iron ore shipments from Rio Tinto and Atlas was not authorized by the two companies, nor verified, calling it “false information” and saying the post had been taken down.

The most actively traded iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down more than 8% to around 766 yuan ($120.53) per tonne as of 1333 GMT. It surged nearly 6% earlier on Friday and closed at 805 yuan a tonne in afternoon trading.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $149.30 a tonne during morning trading, down 2.3% compared to Thursday’s closing.

Supply

Vale delivered less iron ore than expected in a welcome boost to a wavering recovery in prices.

Fourth-quarter production came in at 82.5 million tonnes, compared with the 85.6 million tonnes average estimate.

Vale’s output also fell short of the third quarter and the year-ago result.

The company’s full-year output came in at the low end of its 315 million to 320 million tonnes on guidance range. Vale’s ongoing recovery from a 2019 tailings dam disaster makes it a major swing factor on the supply side.

Vale kept its 2022 projection of 320 million to 335 million tonnes despite rain interruptions last month.

Bloomberg Intelligence sees global iron-ore supply contracting this year after growing in 2021 as producers emphasize value over volume.

($1 = 6.3551 Chinese yuan renminbi)

KoBold Metals, a start-up backed by a coalition of billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has raised $192.5 million in its latest financing round, which will allow it to speed up efforts to find new deposits of critical metals needed for batteries and clean energy.

Investors in the Series B funding round for the company included Sam Altman’s Apollo Projects and Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital as well as BHP (ASX: BHP) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada’s largest pension fund, two people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Previous backers include big names such as Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

The Silicon Valley-based firm, founded in November 2018, plans to use artificial intelligence to create a “Google Maps” of the Earth’s crust, with a special focus on finding cobalt deposits. It collects and analyzes multiple streams of data — from old drilling results to satellite imagery — to better understand where new deposits might be found.

Algorithms applied to the data collected determine the geological patterns that indicate a potential deposit of lithium and cobalt, which occurs naturally alongside nickel and copper.

KoBold Metals estimates the world needs to mine more than $10 trillion of these key metals to meet the expected demand for electric vehicles (EVs), adding that traditional mining companies are likely to turn to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help them along their quest.

Not a miner  

KoBold, as its chief executive officer Kurt House has stated multiple times, does not intend to be a mine operator “ever.”

The company’s quest for battery metals began two years ago in Canada, after it acquired rights to an area of about 1,000 square km (386 sq. miles) in northern Quebec, just south of Glencore’s Raglan nickel mine.

The firm, named after the German word for a goblin that controls the earth’s minerals, has already gathered publicly available data from company disclosures and government sources, as well as historical information from companies it partners with.

These include BHP, the world’s no. 1 miner, Norway’s state-backed energy company Equinor, and Greenland-focused junior Bluejay Mining (LON: JAY).

KoBold’s algorithms then crunch the data obtained in search of geological patterns, which guides its activities and land acquisitions.

The technology can locate resources that may have eluded more traditionally minded geologists and can help miners decide where to acquire land and drill, the company has said.

It currently owns about a dozen exploration properties in Zambia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Western Australia.

Production at Tesla’s Berlin factory will not start until mid-March at the earliest, RBB reported on Wednesday.

Tesla is still awaiting final approval from local authorities to begin production.

RBB reported, without citing any sources, that authorities are currently still reviewing the factory’s safety precautions.

A spokesperson for the state environment ministry said “we do not specify a concrete date,” but “we are in the final phase of the approval process.”

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has tweeted that he would visit the Berlin factory in mid-February.

A spokesperson for Tesla in Germany didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prices of rare earths needed for electric vehicles (EVs) are set to keep sizzling this year on the back of buoyant sales of EVs, uncertainty about supply from Myanmar and razor-thin stockpiles.

The Chinese price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy used to make super-strong magnets used in EV motors doubled last year and has already shot up more than 10% so far in 2022 to 1.17 million yuan ($184,072) per tonne.

China’s industry ministry met automakers and battery companies last month to discuss surging prices of rare earths.

“The situation is as tight as it has ever been,” said Ryan Castilloux of consultancy Adamas Intelligence.

“The industry just operates hand to mouth and demand gets stronger month after month.” He declined to give specific price forecasts because of their volatility.

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in EVs, wind turbines, and military equipment, but relies on Myanmar for around half of its heavy rare earth feedstock.

Its rare earth imports from Myanmar dried up for several months last year after the closure of a key border crossing to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The border reopened in late November, but political instability in Myanmar after a military coup last year adds to uncertainty about supply, analysts said.

“It remains fragile, both politically and the health dimension, and that should be a concern for the magnet industry,” Castilloux said.

Permanent magnets made from rare earths are used in most motors used to power EVs, a sector that has seen sales boom as automakers seek to slash carbon emissions.

Global sales of EVs more than doubled in 2021 to 6.6 million, more than tripling their market share from two years earlier, according to the International Energy Agency.

Gary Gao at data provider Shanghai Metals Market said they expected rare earth prices to remain strong until at least 2025.

“Policymakers (in China) think that the current price for REE (rare earth element) oxides is somewhat undervalued,” he told a webinar.

Recognising strong demand, China increased by 20% the first batch of 2022 quotas for domestic rare earth mining production.